An end and a beginning: Lyndon B. Johnson's decisive speech of March 31, 1968

Abstract

This essay advances the thesis that Lyndon B. Johnson's speech on March 31, 1968, was a decisive moment of self‐acceptance and a reassessment of the nature of presidential power. It is argued that Johnson's dependence upon the criterion of consensus, together with his response to being rejected as a communicator and leader served as restrictive influences upon his process of invention; that these restrictions affected his ability to assume full possession of the presidency; and that at both the substantive and personal levels, the March 31st speech indicates a significant alteration in Johnson's rhetorical posture and a move from strategic to moral considerations.